Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to gear up for a launch to boost its Navic fleet. This is a very proud moment for the Indians as India will witness its first privately built satellite in space sometime later this week.
The IRNSS-1L, the backup navigation satellite with a new atomic clock has been developed under ISRO but it was actually developed by small-sized firms which were led by Bengaluru-based Alpha Design Technologies. The satellite will be launched on Thursday from Sriharikota by PSLV, a homegrown polar satellite launch vehicle. This is a second satellite that a private team has built for ISRO. The previous one was a failure as it got lost in August last year. A later inquiry revealed that the rocket’s heat shield failed to open and let out the spacecraft. It was reported that an explosive had failed to denote properly, and as a result, the latch was intact.
So far, ISRO has developed and built satellites and space crafts on its own, although somewhat dependent on private firms such as Godrej, Larson and Toubro, and Bharat Electronics. ISRO has to meet the need for 70 large communication and earth observation satellites in the next five years. The operation solely focuses on building next-generation satellites, rockets, and crafts for deep space exploration. Last November, ISRO tried to float a tender to outsource the manufacturing of 60 satellites and offered to transfer technology to private companies.
They have done that so that they will be capable of serving the local market and grabbing a firm position in the global market. Euroconsult has reported that over 3,000 satellites of over 50 kg will be built by the government and commercial organizations by 2026. It should be noted that a new wave of companies focused solely on the building of over 3,000 microsatellites is emerging globally. ISRO also wants Indian firms to build and launch satellites on PSLV, which is some kind of a workhorse to send small satellites from across the globe into space. The Indian space organization has already begun its work to build and launch its first PSLV by 2020. However, the Alpha Design chief executive Col HS Shankar, has declined to comment on any of that.
